It’s hard to put a label on tomorrow’s game against Sparta Prague who already are qualified to the knock-out rounds while Inter is eliminated. A good opportunity for Stefano Pioli to use these 90 minutes in order to strengthen the moral of the team as well as to experiment on a technical and tactical level. Here’s what Pioli had to say about tomorrow’s game:
Is tomorrow a game you could have been without or is it a chance to get experience? “It’s an opportunity for the guys who haven’t played that much, a chance to get back to winning and a chance to honor a European competition.”
If things were reversed, would Simeone have said the same thing? “I think the real thing is that I coach Inter and Simeone coaches Atletico. We both have to stay focused and think of our jobs.”
How do you feel? “I am very determined and eager to do well. We know we have had the wrong apporach before, a lesson for the future after the positive signals we got from previous games. We still have the potential to perform well though, starting with tomorrow’s game and the game on Sunday.”
Who can lead his teammates? “There are many players that can take the lead, but all together we have to give something extra in order to get continuity when it comes to performance and competitiveness.”
How can you motivate the players now that everything is gone? “Everything is not gone, unfortunately we’re out of the Europa League, but it’s still important and the team from last year fought hard in order to qualify to this competition. We are not even halfway through the season and there are many points still to be won. We’re still in the chase and have the potential to win many games. There is also the Italian Cup so we have to work and believe in ourselves.”
What kind of Inter did you expect to see this month? “I didn’t like the attitude against Napoli, I believe we are working well and I get disappointed when players don’t show on the field what we have done well every day. Here we have the perfect conditions to work well and this is a positive aspect from which we can build a great future.”
